Love your videos! I was the chief engineer on the USCGC Penobscot Bay (WTGB 107) and engineering petty officer aboard USCGC Wire (WYTL 65612) so I’ve spent considerable time sailing the same waters as you. Your videos are excellent depictions of the life aboard a tug on New York Harbor and the Hudson. Keep up the good job! Frank Libby, CWO4 (Eng), USCG, Ret.
Thank you for watching and for your kind words Frank! It means so much to me coming from a fellow seaman. By the way, I have been approved to shoot a behind the scenes video at USCG Sector NY VTS. I thought we would do in this or last month, but everything has been put on hold. The good news is that the security part seems to be approved and that was the one that we didn't know if they would let cameras in. So, please subscribe if you haven't already, and crossing fingers I'll get the VTS video shot! Be safe and stay healthy.
I changed the light several times on Hell Gate Bridge, I use to work for the MTA as a High Power Distribution Lineman, my initials are stamped into the base of the light JVB, spent many a day on that bridge, thank you for showing it from the water.
Hey Tim, love the videos, I was a Pilot boat Operator for Interport pilots back in78. I was 1 replacement for an Operator that was lost in January of 78. Operated out of Alantic Highlands Municipal Harbor then. Changed my career after turning down a Deckhand position with Moran back then, regretted it ever since.
Thank you for watching Tom. Please consider subscribing if you haven't already. I used to run a pilot boat out of point Judith on my time off. It was a lot of fun. Stay safe and healthy my brother.
Captain, a blast from the past for me... Many years ago five of us moved a 34' Alberg design sloop from Old Lyme, CT down to the Chesapeake Bay. Staying overnight at a nice boatyard at City Island, NY, then thru Hell Gate at slack tide, then on to Atlantic City, Delaware Bay and finally into the Chesapeake. About a 5 day trip for a bunch of landlubbers... Unforgettable! Thanks for that video. For me, it was just right!
As a recreational mariner I run these waters moving north in early summer and south in early fall. I enjoy your commentary about the navigation and sights along the way. There is so much to see along the East River.
The best channels are those where the presenter has great empathy as you do and mistakes make it even more human and a pleasure to watch. For those of us who go nowhere near a boat or sea unless they are on holiday, even the mundane for you is interesting to me. Don't be worried by long sequences meandering down a river, its a tonic. Regards from the UK
My wife and I did this a few years back in our Nordic Tug 32, Carrie Rose, on the way to Maine. We left from Great Kills on Staten Island. It is fun to watch because we were so involved with timing, navigating, and if I do say, anxiety that it is hard to remember. Got to Hell Gate just as the current was reversing. I was quite swirly. The fact that you, with your experience, are so plan full validates our hours and hours of study to make the transit without drama. Thanks!
Thank you for watching Dean. Welcome to the channel and please consider subscribing if you haven't already. Planning ahead is always a good idea, especially in the Gate. "Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Preference" the law "P"s
Also Captain. Will be showing this video to my Pops, a Korean War Veteran, who just turned 91. Yes I am blessed, thanking you Lord. I’m sure it will trigger his memories of the many passages we made. He has startling good recollection of stuff, 40, 50, even 65 years ago , especially his War experiences. Now?! Ask him what he had for breakfast at any lunchtime?! He usually doesn’t remember! 😳😔 No matter, he is still highly functioning everyday, able to administer his daily insulin injections after being a lifelong diabetic! Blessings aplenty our family still has. I’m firstborn so his guidance and lessons have a led me to be a productive member of society! I’m also the rebel that caused him the most grief! Love you Pops!🥰🥰🥰
Having grown up on Long Island, lived in the city and traveled by rail up the Hudson. These videos, besides being informative, are a great nostalgia trip. I would love to see a video on the workings of a railroad car float being loaded, moved and unloaded. Thanks for the Memories.
Thank you for watching the John. I really appreciate it. It is a rare sight these days to see a rail float going across the harbor. And I believe the ones that get a job every once in a while are technically half floats. I could be wrong, but I think those old Hugh's floats are original car floats that have been cut in half and sterns welded on to make two smaller barges.
5:05 For those who are interested, the Buttermilk Channel name goes back a ways, possibly as early as before the Revolutionary War. There are various theories but essentially they involve milk from dairy farmers. One version is that it was a rough crossing and when the farmers transported their milk from Brooklyn to the city (Manhattan) the milk would occasionally be churned into butter. Another version is that as milk would spill into the salt water of the upper bay, it would look like it was churned into buttermilk. Another interesting tidbit of history is Governor's Island, which forms the west side of the Buttermilk Channel (Brooklyn forming the east side). Originally it was much smaller at 69 acres but today, thanks to the miracle of landfill, it is 172 acres. The landfill occurred in the very early 1900s. It is also the home of what is now New York State. The first settlers arrived on Governor's Island in 1624.
Having sailed up/down the East River a number of times in my sailboat (usually motoring), it's generating lots of nostalgia to see this transit. In a small boat, Hells Gate involves lots of steering changes to stay in the center of the channel due to the eddies. I love this transit, and usually stop in the protected anchorage by the Throgs Neck Bridge to wait for the tide to change on the way back. The prison barge is always very interesting. Like a small hotel (with a barbed wire basketball court on the roof). Thanks for the video.
Thank you for watching Jackson. The next time you go through the gate, can you do me a favor? Keep your radio on 13 leave the middle of the channel to the deep draft guys. Those eddies you speak of work more on a big boat than a small boat and we can't usually just stop or slow down. Thank you again and I really appreciate you being a part of our RU-vid community.
How nice to watch these harbour scenes on your channel. I was a merchant sailor in the early eighties and we discharged cars in Newark a few times - so it feels good" to be back".
Loved seeing the Hell Gate bridge again. In high school I spent some time hanging out at the base of it in Astoria Park. The bridge certainly deserves its name.
Loved this. I just read about the General Slocum steamboat disaster .That was the route it was on when it caught fire.As the capt. got through Hell Gate,he full powered to N.Brother Island. 1,201 people died.But the nurses on the island did manage to save some.
Wow brought back memories. I'm Native New Yorker ( Bronx County ) Used to have a sailboat back in the 1970s in the Throggs Neck section. I was looking for Steppin Stone Lighthouse. Now living in Ormond Beach, FL. Thank you I enjoy your Videos
Loved the chart talk at beginning! As a survivor of Hunts Point, in Da Bronx, so very cool to see these landmarks and bridges from the river view. Throgs Neck, Triboro and Whitestone , all the names I constantly heard and traversed in my childhood! We had relatives in Brooklyn and Queens, so crossing those bridges were very much a big part of my growing up! We would pass by I believe Bellevue Hospital, known more as a looney bin back then. When we kids would act up in the long traverse from DaBronx, me Pops would threaten to drop us off at Bellevue, if we didn’t pipe down! LOL. YOU TALK ABOUT A WIDE EYED SILENCE as we passed Bellevue! 😇🤣😂Excellent content Captain. Please, more of the same. Prefaced by the charts of course! 👍👏🏻😁
I really appreciate the videos you put out. I grew up in a bedroom community in the SF Bay Area and have always been fascinated by ships and tugs especially. I spent 8 years as a Corpsman , 3 of which were in a Cruiser out of Nawwwwwphuck VA . Sea and Anchor details sucked but I never grew tired of watching Pilots and tugs. Earned my ESWS pin back when it was difficult .....3 hour oral board Thank you for the polite retraction by the way. Fair Winds and Following Seas
I was one of the dry dock and Marine Railway operators for the old Boston Naval Shipyard(5 drydocks, 1MR). I remember so many guys watching me and you could tell they wish they had my job. What I was wishing was that I could get on one of those beautiful Tugs that brought the Carriers or destroyers to or from my dock. Now living on Cape Cod looking over at Marthas Vineyard.
I once had a captain with which I worked tell me Hell Gate came from the Dutch for "beautiful passage." I learned to go through Hell Gate from the man who has probably taken more ships through than any other man alive. His response to that as "Bu-- Sh--, it's because it's like going through the gates of Hell!" Two big turns with up to 5 knots of current. Thanks for the video. Stay safe and healthy.
Hahaha. Sounds right to me. Was he a square head? (I'm sure that is unacceptable now, but was quite common when the harbor was nothing but square heads). Thank you for watching.
@@TimBatSea No, he is not a square head. But, I did work with a number of them. I am sure there any many other such terms no longer deemed acceptable, but I also know I heard more than one refer to themself as a squarehead or blockhead. Hope you are enjoying nice weather on the trip back.
I grew up in Astoria and used to go to Astoria Park under the Hellgate Bridge often....always liked watching the tugs passing thorough and later went through as a tug deckhand :)
Thanks for the memories transiting Hell Gate and Throgs Neck. Been there coming and going to Newport, RI many times and not always on a fair tide. You made it look easy! Adding the chart overview was great - more please!
Thanks Tim, without you I would never have seen the East River. I can not imagine living in that area. Too many people in to small of a space, no wonder so many are sick.
Thank you for watching John. I love living on the boat here, but I don't think city life would ever be for me. It's much different from the water's perspective.
Tim - brand new subscriber, lifelong recreational sailor, now sail out of Mt Sinai Harbor on LI. Enjoying your videos tremendously - thanks so much for sharing! I especially appreciate the chart views - great overview & context. Please keep more videos coming!
More like this one please. Seriously, I enjoy seeing what a day, (or night) for you and the crew consists of. Thanks! (I'm still gonna drink the water...LOL)
Thank you for watching. I really would like to find a way to shoot at night but my camera does what it can, but it's not enough. I'll figure something out. Hang in with me.
hills brothers still in Yonkers? when i was a passenger with dad we used to bring coffee barges there. also is Newtown creek off the east river i forgot. i remember hell gate. u have cats , engines. we had GM diesels . the boat was the Judith Mc Allister which years later sunk as the Celtic,in Long Island Sound, all hands were lost. u have a very nice boat. very modern looking. the Judith was a rust bucket. if you want to work on boats try working in the winter. u r a true boatman if you can survive winter dad used to say. i grew up listen to tugboat stories. dad would be 108 years old if he was alive. watching u touches a nerve with me when we had dad. very nice videos Tim. i am sorry if i talk a it too much but i miss my father. RIP Dad smooth, safe sailing, a flood tide captain Tim
Thank you for watching Billy. Your Dad sounds like quite a character. Yes, Newtown Creek is off the east River by poorhouse flats range. Be safe and know your Dad lives within you. Be safe and stay healthy.
@@tommypetraglia4688 u have your health. i dont i wanted to work on boats but i cant. enjoy what you have in life. i sat in a cubicle for 26 years. i am retired. as soon as this virus goes away i am driving to Florida. going to the keys. bee kool.
Your outlook on the comments regarding the pandemic is admirable. Lot's of people could learn from it. I'm a Mid at Kings Point, and I'm hoping to get on a tug when I graduate, so your videos are perfect! Thanks Captain.
Thank you very much for watching Karen. We have cadets come and sail with us for a weekend at times. You could get in touch with your guidance counselor and they can set it up through our company. (One of my best mates came from KP. He's a pilot now.) Be est of luck and I hope to see you on the dock. CUOTO
Thank you for the great video, Capt! I love watching the commercial traffic transit the Hellgate while having my breakfast near where I work on the Quuens side. I live on Long Island and do most of my boating/fishing east of where the video ends on the LI Sound. They used to call the Sound "Devil's Pass" because of the many shipwrecks such as the tug Gwendoline Steers who went down near Eatons Neck during an ice storm in 1962. I have a OUPV/Six-Pack Capt Lic but got it mostly for nautical knowledge and don't use it professionally at this time. Your videos help us recreational boaters understand the importance of the service commercial vessels provide and also the need to give you guys a wide berth while plying your trade. Looking forward to your VTS video. Stay well!!, Harry PS Do you ever have problems with sailboats cutting you off??
Thank you for watching Harry, and for the kind words. Long island sound has given many a mariner an impressive and surprisingly unexpected beating. I sailed with a guy who had spent most of his career in the North sea. We were getting beaten up by an easterly in the sound when he came up to the wheelhouse and said he was going to go back to the north sea because he couldn't take Long Island Sound anymore. Sailboats can be an issue, but in my opinion I think most of them are a slight bit more knowledgeable about steamship then some of the powerboat people. This may be because it takes just a bit more knowledge to sail then to buy a powerboat and head for sea. But complacency doesn't care what kind of boat you run. (If you ask me the same question in a couple months from now, I may have a different opinion)
Good video Capt. As a Kings Point grad this brought back memories going up and down the east river. I've done the trip probably 100 times, to the brother islands, and a few all the way to upper bay but its been a few years and i realize how much of the features ive forgotten.
Going south on the East River, against the tide, I saw a large NOAA vessel approaching from the south going north. The boat seemed gigantic and the blunt bow was pushing some water. I decided to move a little to starboard, because there was plenty of room before the wall, a little north of the U.N. That is where I met Mr. Bernoulli and his principle. A rude shock. I had the power to pull away from the wall, but learned a "sweaty hands on lesson" in fluid dynamics!
I also enjoyed the chart work, reminded me of passage planning on my old boat up the East Coast of England. But the strange thing is just last night I was re arranging stuff, I seldom throw stuff away. When I came across a 1975 edition of the Suez Canal chart, I worked on the construction of a road tunnel between the Bitter Lakes and Suez and so bought the chart as a memento.
Capt George Sadler at the helm of the Barney Turecamo pushing the Lafarge Alexandria, liked to take the Gate 20 minutes past slack on the nose... said the pressure helped the rudders bite. I have a hatfull of stories and then some decking oil and cement for a dozen years... thanks for the trip down memory lane, er, I mean up the East River... that is up, right? The John Reinauer was a hawser boat and when we were in push gear we'd leave it on the capstan for when we made that turn to port under the Throgs Neck, matey would ring me up to take up the slack on the port gear... then it was up to the wheelhouse as we went eastbound on my home waters -Stamford to Stratford Shoal and Penfield Light, having sailed my Sunfish off Fairfield Beach about 3 lifetimes before then and about another 3 passed since.
Good morning Tim, Thank you for the video!! It’s good trying to place where you were sailing in relation to the charts!! Once again thank you for the information/ nobody can always be right!! Take care Brother and catch you next time 👍😎🇬🇧.
Absolutely YESSSS! I love the places you take us to. I am familar with many of them. Honestly, I have heard of all of the places you take us to. I've dreamed of being able to do what you do. Thank you
Thanks a lot. That was a great trip up the river. I used to live up the Hudson a way (now in California) and like to visit the area once in a while. I really enjoy your taking us all along!
Great video and I loved the explanations of what one sees as they progress through the East River. I think the stop motion was just fine. North Brother Island is also where the PS General Slocum was beached after she caught fire. An estimated 1,021 people died out of around 1,350 passengers in 1904.
Anouther great vid. Loved seeing SUNY with Empire State and also KP from the sea. Whilst I am a Brit I have had the fortune to visit both places included a full tour of Empire State (a colleague was a SUNY grad and his good friend was Master of the training ship at the time. Keep safe. Calm seas and a following Sea.
Another great video Tim. Couple of points: Merchandise : your employer may be savvy enough to agree to a deal where you promote the Elk River, the company and their other vessels and you share the revenues. They would benefit from the goodwill your channel is generating. Travel guide: l bet 90% of New Yorkers don't know the land of New York. Locals tend to take such things for granted. Only a very small number would know New York from the water. Which is another reason why your videos are so interesting to watch. Stay well, stay safe. Best wishes from the UK.
Thank you very much! I appreciate it and your input. I may run that by the big bosses, but it's generally better to stay under the radar. Thank you again!
I lived in NYC most of my adult life and never saw what was on the water’s edge until I took a Circle Line cruise for fun with coworkers. I would love to see more of this and even the trip in reverse for another perspective. This was the best! Thanks.
Another great vid Tim. It reminded me of taking the Circle Line cruises around Manhattan Island back in the 1980's. Showing us your route on the chart before the cruise was a great idea and gives us a perspective as to where you're going and coming from. Cheers!
Thanks so much for the video Skip! I was stationed at USCG Sta. Ft Totten in the early 80's & this brought back many memories. Spent many a mid watch listening to you guys and watching you pass under the T neck bridge. Could just make out the light at stepping stones light house at the very end :) Thanks again
TIM BEAUTIFUL enjoyed the tour, wishing I could make the trip just like you did. The sun shinning and it was clear and just beautiful. Thank you for the view and the share..till next time,
Thank you Marie! I shot us coming back last night into the sunset. Haven't seen how it came out yet, but I'll try to get something up for you by today or tomorrow.
I have never clicked subscribe on a channel so fast before. I love your energy and positive attitude! I personally love the time lapses especially when you add commentary over them explaining things about the river or whats going on at the moment as you did in this video. Any knowledge you share (even if incorrect at times) is knowledge gained. I work as a stevedore in Virginia and always see Lube and Bunker barges sneak up beside a vessel in the middle of the night and have always been fascinated watching tugs work in unison to dock a vessel to our pier. I'm a big believer in doing your own research and making your own assumptions which is what you did and you decided to share that with us which is awesome! Even though you were wrong about certain items you admitted that; And there will always be people in the comments (hopefully constructively) correcting you so that we can all be a little bit smarter. Keep up the fantastic work! Best wishes and good health to you and the crew!
Thank you very much for the kind words. I really do appreciate it. You have a very cool job and most likely a very strong union. Stay healthy and safe.
Hey Capt. Keep up the good work. We all fall victim to misinformation here and there, what you did was admirable. Most people would not correct themselves on a video feed. You're awesome!!!!
Much to your credit - even though people say the words, you admitting mistakes and correcting them only makes me respect you more. Thank you for your efforts making these videos, it does help pass the time AND I learn so much from you and your journeys. Please stay safe and keep on keeping on :))
GREAT TOUR ,,,,,,,,, ive been thru there plenty of time with my 18 foot searay ,,,, the east river part is the worst for me so much water chop ,, i like the technical part and water force at hell gate ,,,,,,,, sea you on the river !!!!!!!
Hello Tim I love watching ship watching videos you know the ones where you just watch the ship move very slowly but I also like the RV guy and what he does is a combination of both narration and long periods in between of driving, what I'm trying to say is I wouldn't mind long periods of just watching the ship go and then throw the time lapses in between with explanations that would be great because watching the ship just go may seem boring but it's very therapeutic. Keep up the good work bro I enjoy your videos very much!
A humble man you are, so humble. More humans could learn a thing or two, not just about maritime stuff, but just about being a good human being. Thank you for your videos sir. Take care in these times when we’re all in uncharted waters (or at least not well charted).
Hey, it was great! I took your advice and drank two pints of brew, then held my breath for the entire episode. Glad you speeded it up! And I had a helluva belch at the end.
Oh no.... The comment I never should have made and never goes away......lol. I was duped into believing a popular (at the time) internet myth. In the next video I apologise for it and try to back track. Lol
Mighty fine show. I am from the Midwest (land locked). The boat looks really clean and neat from the videos. Just flat out clean! It’s neat that you still use maps or atlas to get around town. Most people today cannot read them because it’s not on their I phone. You have a unique and interesting career. I bet you guys can really cook some good meals. Keep up the good work.
enjoyin' ur vids Tim... jest stumbled on them while surfin'... dont have time 2 watch all of 'em 2day but will git around 2 them very soon... very interestin' vids & i wouldn't worry bout bein' corrected in the misinfo u gave out... ur heart was in the right place & at least u have the courage 2 come back & apologize fer it & with dignity & grace& the professional that u r...thanx fer sharin'.... subbed & hit the bell... take care...♪♫♪
Tim, I am sitting up at 8400', 35 miles from the nearest place to buy gas/groceries in the Colorado Rockies. I am a mountain guy, but I really look forward to watching your videos. Keep it up.
I really enjoyed this video. Having sailed the East River several times on a small sailboat, Hell Gate is always a concern. We closely calculate departure times to arrive there near slack current.
Thank you for watching Ms LaurN. You are one of the elite %3 of my viewers... The rest are all guys. Lol. So an extra special thank you for watching to you.
Way to much coffee. I got spoiled on the boat I was working over on. They had really good coffee. My AB brought a truck load of food in so we wouldn't have to go shopping, but I don't like his coffee. So I drank twice as much hoping it would get better. It didn't. Lol
Thanks Tim, I spent 2 1/2 years on Governor's Island in the early 70's, but now I wish I had spent more time seeing all the cool stuff at you show us instead of chasing girls.
Thank you very much for the kind words, but please remember that I am not supposed you use the name or the boat or company I work for directly. I hope that I can shine a positive light on our industry and my employer and I appreciate your support.
I went through Hell Gate back in 1959 with my 21' cabin cruiser. It only had a 25 hp Evinrude outboard in it for power and I almost lost it going through there. I just didn't have near enough power. Yes, some showing on the charts of where you will be going would be much helpful. I haven't been there in a very long time, so the shore scenery has changed significantly. You are now very high on my "subscribed list" and I plan on watching everything. Thanks so much for your videos. Stay safe from the virus. I have only left my home 3 times in the past 4 weeks for groceries, and each time wore gloves and a mask.
Your video brought back memories for me , in the late 60s I used to dock at West St, I think it was pier 52 & over at Hoboken & Newark . Good ship handling & great video
@@Gaudacorte oh you are a lucky one. My grandmother lived outside of Malaga (Benelmadena Pueblo) and I went to school in Madrid. I love Spain more than one might think I could. Thank you for watching, and it makes me happy to know that an old salty Scott watches my channel. Cheers. Let's meet up for a few drinks and a lot of sea stories!
@@TimBatSea The second part with the time lapse, I've never seen the east side waterways of NY harbor before so this was an interesting trip. One of these days I'm going to take one of the Circle Line tours around Manhattan, it's funny how I lived in NYC for 20 years and never did much sightseeing around the harbor other than the Staten Island ferry. Your videos allow me to reconnect with the beautiful city that I love so much. Thank You!
We all hate you guys, and for good reason.... You got in and we didn't. Lol and because you are probably a pilot married to a beautiful woman in a big house making 4 times what we do. Lol I hope you see I am just messing with you and this Hawsepiper has nothing but mad respect for you guys. Thank you very much for watching.
